Injury

I have injured my shoulder some how. I do believe it is from Insanity, with all the push ups. With my wrist that doesn't have full movement makes my push ups a bit more difficult. I do believe that puts a lot of extra stress on my good shoulder. So, I have given up on Insanity, letting my shoulder heal up. So I ended Insanity 2.5 weeks early.
I will now concentrate more on the cycling. This past Saturday I rode for 2 hours on the rollers. Keeping the intensity way down. How I made it the 2 hours wasn't too bad. I did endurance pace during the TV program and then on the commercials I up the intensity a little until the program came back on and then it would be back to endurance pace. This worked out very well for me keeping my mind occupied on switching it up a bit is key. Otherwise I get bored to fast and then mentally break down and get off early. Hoping to increase these types of training rides as the winter progresses.
I am looking forward to January 1st and getting my training going. I am well rested physically and mentally. Happy Holidays everyone!

Fantastic Weekend

What a great weekend. Saturday I met up with a group from Cedarburg. Jim G. (team mate) put a route together and sent out invites. He had 31 people show up. I definitely can tell that my fitness is lower than those that are still racing. I don't let this bother me, I don't need/want to be the strongest in December. The weather was great for being the beginning of December. I rode back to Cedarburg with everyone and then rode back home, giving me a total of 65 miles.
Sunday was very warm again for December 2nd, and I was able to get out with Ryan (team mate). We had a west, north west wind so we headed towards Theresa. You can't get away from the hills out that way. I was able to get another 45 miles in and was home in time for the Packer game.
What a great weekend of riding. I also had a good week of Insanity training too.
Not sure what will happen this weekend. I have a wedding to go to Saturday in Madison. Tammy and I will be staying the night, so, I am hoping to ride early Saturday before we have to get on the road. Sunday I am hoping I can ride in the afternoon when we get back. Not sure though, and nothing is set in stone. Just winging it!

Thanksgiving Weekend

I will start by saying that I have not been consistent with working out. I need to get back on track and that starts today.
Thursday I went on a group ride that was put on by another team mate. I rode from my house and met them on the road. He did a great job, 3 mini races with points for each and prizes for up to 3 spots. I haven't done any intensity for quite some time, so I was hurting in the mini races. I won the last one, this one is one that I am very familiar with. It is the same as a finishing sprint for OBC. I was able to get a great lead out and waited a long time before going because of my lack of intensity. I was able to get a ride back from a friend. Nice way to start the day before feeding my face with family.
Friday I went mountain biking with another team mate at New Fane, it was a bit windy and cold. The trail was in great shape and I was able to get in 4 laps.
Saturday, I went again with the same team mate and met up with some more friends. Again a bit cool, but the sun was out making the trail slimy. Only rode 3 laps, crashed and got muddy. Still had fun, just not as much as the previous day.
Sunday was spent decorating the house.
I have been having trouble getting up in the morning and doing Insanity before work. I like my sleep! So, I am going to do it after work. No excuses!
Temperatures look to be decent this weekend, so I will get out on the road bike again as long as the rain holds off.

Miscellaneous Training

I have been doing Insanity for just over 2 weeks. Last week I felt like I dislocated a rib, so I took a day off. Yesterday I had a fit test and I have improved in all the exercises. I am proud to make the improvements, but my legs are really sore this morning, so I decided to take another day off. I will let my muscles recover a little more before I shred them again. Trying to prevent injury!
My upper body is also really sore, but I don't think it from Insanity. I believe that it is from playing a boxing game on the XBOX Kinect. You wouldn't believe how much I was sweating playing this game. I am doing great finding different ways of keeping active besides riding my bicycle everyday.
Speaking of bicycling, I went out this past weekend with team mate Travis. I haven't seen the guy/family in such a long time. I had a lot of fun riding with him and catching up with him. We rode from Germantown and went down by Altera on the lake front and then back. The weather was warm and a bit windy, we rode for 3 hours. We were back before the wind really pick up. Sunday, I didn't feel like fighting the wind so I decided to box instead.
Today I skipped Insanity and will take today off and get back to it tomorrow. I might ride the trainer tonight for a little while just to get some blood flow through my legs. I guess that is it, not much really going on.

Insanity

Yesterday I started a workout called Insanity. It is a full body cardio DVD's to follow. I am doing this to get some cross training in. Yesterday was only a fit test, which I feel I failed miserably and am looking to do much better in the next one in two weeks. This morning was my first actual workout, and it looks like it wouldn't be that hard, because I feel that I am pretty fit, but WOW, it is tough. I am looking foreword to improving and seeing how much I can actually accomplish in two months. I am doing Insanity before work in the morning and will still ride my bicycle some in the basement after work.
Cycling workouts are not very specific, meaning I don't have a written plan for November & December. My written plan actually is going to start January 1st. I do have this written already, but I think I will be doing some changes before I start it. I still plan on doing a bit longer rides on the weekends.
I need to loose weight! This is why I am still going to keep riding, just to keep moving, keeping the furnace running. I really can't believe I have put on 15lbs already, putting me at 170lbs. I would like to stay around 160lbs throughout the winter and get my weight down to 150lbs for racing. 150lbs would be an all time low for me, I was able to maintain 155lbs this past season, so I do believe that it is doable.

Whooped!

It was a great week of training. Tuesday-2-laps of New Fane, Wednesday-2-laps of New Fane, Thursday-3-laps of New Fane, Sunday 106 miles on the road bike (Loberg Century).
New Fane has some spots that are covered in leaves making it a bit more difficult to see the terrain. Not really to much to talk about here.
The Loberg Century was once again awesome and very challenging, mentally and physically. My endurance fitness is definitely WAY down and mentally had to push through. His route was great and very challenging. It was cool, windy and hilly and had @ 12 riders along with a sag vehicle. It has been around a month since I have rode my road bike and my body was letting me know it.
This week is going to be a lot less training trying to feel fresh for Sunday's WORS race in Sheboygan. I will ride Wednesday at New Fane, Saturday in Sheboygan (just to ride the course) and race on Sunday.

Birthday Weekend!

Saturday started w/cleaning the house house a little before I could go mountain biking. I picked Ryan P. up in the morning and met up with Ryan Cooley and the Timm's in Sheboygan by the quarry at 10am. We rode around a bit trying to figure out how the course was going to go. This was very confusing, you would see painted arrows here and there. A bit later we ran into a couple that said they new the course and we followed them for a lap. After that lap we went and did it again and then messed around on the equalizer a bit. The first time I went up the equalizer and chose a bad line and didn't make it to the top. The next time up it, I made and then I did it again a made it, so I feel very confident about riding up the equalizer. I need to ride the course again with out anyone holding me back. It would help if the course was marked better too. Too many crossing for me to remember the course. I would like to go back up again Saturday and ride it some more. I am having a blast riding mountain bike! After riding I had to head home and get ready to go to the Brewers game.
My brother and his wife met us at our house and we all headed down to 4thbase restaurant for some grub before going to the game. Food was great, game was great, they won.
Sunday I didn't get any training in, which disappointed me a little. Oh, well I couldn't control it. My father-in-law took us out to breakfast. We went to Braising Pan in West Bend, awesome food! It was a bit of a wait, but well worth it. By the time we were done with breakfast it was too late to try to get some training in, because the guests were going to start showing up for my birthday/packer party.
Daylight is getting shorter making it harder for training, I don't want to resort to going in my basement yet. So, not really sure what I am going to get in during the week and like I said earlier, Saturday head up to Sheboygan and Sunday I am doing the Loberg Century. So, I will breaking out the road bike on Sunday for sure. Hoping for another good week of training.

Mountain Biking

Yesterday I went mountain biking w/Ryan P. at New Fane. It was a BLAST! I am borrowing a Trek Superfly 100 from Extreme Ski & Bike. I am trying to get some needed handling skills for a race that I want to do in October up in Sheboygan.
We didn't ride each loop separately. I am not sure how this works, but what we did was follow the painted arrows for the most part. These trail are marked with "loop #'s", 1, 2, 3 and 4. I thick our loop was like 5 - 5.5 miles. The trail is a lot better than what it used to be when I rode there about 15 years ago! It is all single track which is what I have always loved! It made me wish I had a mountain bike again, but not going to happen.
I led the first lap gaping Ryan many times and pretty easily. We were riding much faster than our handling for sure. Ryan went off the trail a couple times and even crashed once. He led the second lap and I was able to stick on him like glue. He said he tried to lose me a couple times, but it wasn't happening. I am going to say that it is all bike, because he was riding a cheap hard tail! My handling might be just a hair better than his. When I was following him, he wasn't choosing very good lines.
We are going again tonight and we a bringing lights so we can ride a bit longer. I am hoping to see others out there, would be nice to check my levels with other mountain bikers before my race, just to get an idea where I am at. This would help me decide if I should race sport or comp.

CF Cycle for Life

This past weekend (9/8/12) Tammy and I did a charity ride to help raise money for Cystic Fibrosis. I first would like to thank all of those that donated! Thanks a lot, it means so much to me. The ride started at 7:30am and in the town of Middleton. It was a cool morning and very windy, but sunny, thankfully. I rode the 50 mile route and Tammy rode the 25 miles route. The route was very challenging will lots of climbs and the wind made it that much harder. The route was the same as last year which was a good thing because some of the marking were gone. I am assuming someone didn't like them there or were just being asses. I did pass an intersection that I remember from the past year, but thought they changed the route. Not the case, I didn't make it to far before I had some come up to me at an intersection and say we were suppose to turn back there. So, later in the ride when the markings weren't there I just turned where it did the previous year. I can't believe I remembered the route from last year.

My fitness is coming back slowly and I compared my ride this year to last years. This year I was a .5mph faster and used @ 200 more kjs. Oh yeah, one other thing, my rear derailleur cable almost broke on my too. I new it was breaking with @ 15 miles to go so I tried to shift as little as possible.

Sunday Tammy and I went for a 8 mile hike on the Ice Age Trail just north of Hwy H and headed north. We are really enjoying hiking lately, just might be our new Sunday thing.

Category 2 Up Grade!

I have recently asked to be up graded to the next level of Category races,  Category 2. Why? Forcing myself to race with faster people. I know my results this year weren't the greatest, but I thought I would give it shot. I asked for an up grade last year too, but was denied. Back to my reasoning, sorry for jumping around. Forcing myself to race a faster category will be great training for one of my goals in 2014. Yes, I am thinking about the future. Oh, if you are wondering, I did get the up grade! Travis should be able to get his up grade too, he just needs to go through the steps. So, 2013 will be a training year to get stronger for 2014.
I have had a cold and took 1 week off the bike. It is amazing how much fitness you lose when you look at the WKO program, but hey I sure am fresh. I am sure my fitness will come back quickly and I am not that concerned because it is the end of the season for me. I just want to have fun!

Down Time

I am currently taking some time off the bike. I have a good cold and I know if I rest my body will be able to recover from it faster.
I am going to do a mountain bike race in October. It is the last WORS race of the year, and Team Extreme has quite a good showing. I borrowed a bike to start hitting the trails, hoping to get some off road handling skills. I used to ride mountain bike a lot, but it has been about 10 years. I will be racing a much nicer bike than the one I am currently borrowing. I am hoping to hit the trails (Greenbush, New Fane, and the one in West Bend) on Saturday's. Riding mountain bike once a week should be enough to help my skills.
I still plan on riding plenty on the road as soon as I get over this cold. Sunday's I will look to do longer rides and during the week I will be just winging it on how I feel. I have a charity ride that I am doing in September and the Loberg 100 in October.
Labor day weekend Tammy and I will be headed to Oxford and we will be taking our bikes with us, so, we should be able to get some good rides in. I am really hoping I feel 100 percent better by then.

Race the Lake 2012!

2012 Race the Lake was my fourth year in a row. This race is a 90 mile road race that starts in Fond Du Lac and goes around Lake Winnebago. This race starts at 5:45am, that is too dam early! The weather started off a bit cool, but I was able to warm up quickly. This year my goals were to make it up the climb (High Cliff) with the lead group, stay towards the front, and top 3 in my age bracket. Last year I finished 6th in my age bracket, so I figured that this could be a do able goal.
OK, this is how the race went for me in my eyes. I started in first wave 2nd row, great starting position, but if you were to start in the back of the pack, this would be better for timing. Anyways I am not going to dwell on that. The pace wasn't bad and kept towards the front, as long as I could see the front I was happy. There were a couple times when I knew we were coming to more of a dangerous section and I would move closer to the front. Oh by the way there was a small break that went off the front from the start, but we caught them later on. When we were getting close to High Cliff I started making my way towards the front as much as I could. The pace at this point was pretty fast. All I can say about the climb is that I did it to the best of my ability and that kept me with the group. I was in the hurt locker though, but hey I made it. From this point it was relatively boring and was waiting for the fireworks to happen. Nothing, OK, maybe when we get close to St. Peters where there is a $700.00 cash pay out to the first person that crosses the line. Good payout right? I thought so, and was waiting for some of the teams to line it up and make everyone suffer, but that never happened. I wish me and my teammates would have planned to try to go for it, I think we could have had a good chance. Oh well, St. Peters was like 80 miles into the race. Now that we are getting close to the end it is going to get interesting, mainly because there were so many people in the lead group. When we crossed over Hwy 151, now with one guy off the front, it is going to start to get crazy. We never catch that guy the went off the front. It was crazy though, people were fighting for position and making really big stupid choices. With two turns to go, I saw an opening and went through that corner and then I was 2nd wheel, from here it is probably like 700 meters to the finish. I was waiting patiently to go, even though I had someone behind me telling that everyone was coming. This guy was trying to get me to go early. I did wait for others to start the sprint and then I went, and could have been a lot better but, there were 2 people that were leaning up against each other like crazy right in front of my and thought for sure they were going to crash, so that screwed up my sprint. That being said I am still happy with the result. Team finished 3rd in the men's class and I finished 14th overall and 3rd in my age bracket.
o.a. age   bib    name                                                               time          avg. speed
14     3     130     Werbelow, Jeramey West Bend, WI M 30-34   03:26:28.0        25.7

I am not going to do this race next year! I fear for my life every year. I just don't find it as fun as I used to.

ElK Grove, IL

First off let me say that I was talked into doing this race by a team mate, and I am glad it did it. Race was in Elk Grove, IL in a residential neighborhood. Course was great, smooth roads, and the corners were easy to handle if you new how to ride your bike. Turn  one was a  180 degree corner and many didn't know how to take it, but we all made it through with out crashing. Turn five was another one that people had a hard time with too. Weather was perfect, sunny and warm!
I picked Travis up at 7am (team mate) and we headed down. Race didn't start till 11am, but I always like to be @ 2 hours early. This leads to plenty of time to get ready and no rushing around. We were there plenty early, we walked the course, pinned our numbers and relaxed a bit before warming up. I happened to fall again landing on my bad wrist and scrapping my elbow pretty good. What happened was we were headed to the bathroom and there was some one walking on the sidewalk towards us and didn't move over. I went off the sidewalk and when I tried to get back on the sidewalk my tire caught the edge of the concrete and I fell over, distinctively trying to break my fall with my hand and my bad wrist that just doesn't flex like it should. OUCH, didn't even care about my elbow bleeding, that really didn't hurt, but my wrist sure did. And now I have to race my bicycle, how the heck is this going to go?
Anyways we lined up and again I was towards the back. I need to plan my starts better, and start further up. Race started pretty fast and it took me a little while to get comfortable breathing super hard. I started to move up in the pack. I managed this very well staying off the complete front. I played around with many lines through the corners figuring out where I can apply the "X" factor the best. Travis wanted to try a break and he did twice, but it wasn't going to happen. Everyone was being very attentive and aggressive with every move. This allowed me to sit in and just move though out the pack where I was comfortable. The race wasn't as hard as I thought it was going to be. I was waiting for the pace to lift up at the end and it did multiple times. I timed the sprint the best to my ability and was able to squeeze out a 4th place finish to collect a $100.00 check. This was a great day of racing for myself. I wish Travis would have felt better, but his fitness will come back around quick.
Up coming, a team ride meeting at Juniper 61 on Saturday (one of our sponsors). Race the Lake is August 19th, so this is just around the corner. Looking forward to it.......I think.

Double Race Weekend

Saturday's race was in Bayview held by Superweek. Course was rough but awesome. Weather was great, but there are very small fields. Our field was combined with the Pro 1,2 women. I raced very hard, chasing breaks and trying to make a break. Didn't play the sprint out right and placed 4th.
Sunday's race was in Whitefish Bay also held by Superweek. I have done this course before and I really like it. So, I thought I would give it shot again. Like Saturday's race the field was very small and again raced with the women. Two people broke off the front, 1 guy with 1 woman, I couldn't chase it down. I did have a little help, but no enough to bring them back. So, they eventually caught back up to us. I did manage to win the the field sprint and collect $20.00.
Next race isn't for a while. I will be doing Race the Lake in the middle of August. Now, I will be trying to work on longer rides along with some good intensity work outs too.

Catching Up!

Yeah I know it has been a long while since my last post. I have been really busy and haven't really had the time to blog. Now, let me see what I can remember since it has been so long.

Downer race was very very fast for me. I started on the line a lot further back than I would have liked, making it hard to move up. I sprinting out of turn two every lap. I was caught behind a crash screwing up any momentum that I had going. After the crash it seemed that the race really got hard. I was in a group that was split off of the leading group and there were a lot of racers that didn't want to do any work. I thought that there was only like 6 of us in our group, but when I finished the race I was told there was close to 30 or so racers. If only we all could have worked together we might have been able to catch back on. Anyways, our group did get pulled with 7 laps to go, overall I didn't place that well, but I still had fun and got a really good workout.

I skipped Sundays race in Madison around the capital. I did go out for a 36 mile ride. If I recall I went out with my wife for a bit and then kept going.

July 4th I went out for a 74 mile ride w/some team mates. It was nice to get in a bit of a longer ride in.

July 7th was the State Criterium Championship. This was a great course put on by LAPT, but the Cat. 3 field was tiny, I think there were 15 racers. Travis my team mate wanted to get into a break. He did get into a break and I would like to say that part of that break was made because of me letting a gap build and making others chase. There was a 6 man break leaving me with the rest and by the end of the race there were only 2 of us. Travis finished 2nd and I finished 8th. I think I could have done a lot better if I would have been in the break, but this is how it ends up sometimes when you are trying to be a team player.

Superweek Downer race on July 14th! This was a combined Pro, 1,2,3 along with Masters, which I believe is due to lack of support from the City and community. They ran 3 races ONLY, Cat. 4/5, Womens and then the race I did. Racing was suppose to start at 6:15pm and I was suppose to start racing a 7:30pm. I believe that we didn't start till after 8PM! This was a 90 minute criterium race which was the longest criterium race I have done so far. It was very fast and I remember looking at the clock at 33 minutes and saying to myself I should just pull out. I didn't and I am really glad, I was able to finish the race, not any results but did finish. I know there were others that pulled out. Believe it or not I am really satisfied with how I raced and it was really fun racing in the dark too!

Tammy is getting a new bike, how exciting is that? I am definitely more excited than she is. It is a Trek Madone 4.5 which is outfitted w/Ultegra and 105, I did upgrade her wheels to Bontrager Carbon/Aluminum aero wheels. I can't wait to see it and ride with her.

I am planning on racing again this weekend, still Super week races, but Cat. 3 races, New Berlin Saturday and Whitefish Bay Sunday. After these races I will be putting in some longer rides and get ready for Race the Lake.

Back to Racing!

Grafton T.o.A.D. race was very fast. I raced the Cat. 2/3 race and held on for dear life. I avoided a big crash with 6 or 7 laps to go. I was pleased just to finish with out crashing, I finished 35th.

Waukesha T.o.A.D. race was even more hurtful. I did the same category race and to was glad to just finish with out crashing. There were 3 crashes in the race and one being on the final lap in turn 1. I finished 27th. A good weekend of racing in my book.

T.o.A.D. is so much faster than WCA races. I am having a lot of fun and am looking forward to Downer this coming Saturday. Should be another barn burner!

I know these race reports seem short, but hey, what can I say? I didn't do any attacking, no chasing breaks, all I did was try to hang on and not crash. These races were really fast, so fast that I have some new record power numbers!

Cross Training

I have been cross training. Not because it is what I need, but because my wife had a so call weekend project that she wanted to do. Which requires a lot of help from me of course. Project was to make a short retaining wall for a flower garden. This is going to give our house some curb appeal.
We started it Saturday the 26th of May (Memorial weekend). I have worked on it everyday and finally finished it June 3rd. Well, not completely done, I still have some piles of dirt to clean up. I posted some before/after pictures.

Now it is time to get back to my bicycle training. I was hoping to get back on track this past weekend. Saturday though I did get out and ride for @ 3hr 30min. I met up with Jim S. and Ryan P. and we rolled down to Thiensville to meet up with what was suppose to be a Team Extreme group ride. Only one other person showed up and we started be heading east then north. He was only able to ride with us for a bit and then he turned around. We kept going north to Fredonia and then we headed west to come back home. When we hit Newburg we were all pretty tired, but pushed on and finished the ride. I ended up with @ 65 miles. It was good to be back on the bike, the last time I rode was May 24th.

Sunday, I was planning on racing but, I needed to help with the front yard. So, I didn't race or ride. I am hoping to get back to consistent training soon. Only thing in the way is the dirt piles that I need to get cleaned that will require a skid loader and dump truck.

Wheels on Willy

Beautiful warm/windy day in Madison. The course was short with a small hill by the start/finish straight.  This is going to be short because there isn't a whole lot to talk about. It was a 4 corner criterium with a small hill. I moved up most of the time on the hill. I did find myself getting to the front easily. Nothing really happened during the race for me, just sitting in trying to stay safe and not get crashed out. One lap to go, I didn't place myself in a very good position and ended up finishing 15th.
There was a lot of; should have, could have, would have that went through my head after the finish. I had the legs to do much better. I wasn't aggressive enough and I should have went earlier, much earlier.Oh, well.
What I think I am going to do this week: Monday, short easy spin, Tuesday, Criterium Practice, Wednesday, not sure if I will do OBC, I might just do my own thing, Thursday, Group ride, Friday off, and for the weekend, not sure what I am doing yet.

Knowing Myself

I was planning on racing Saturday at Muskego Park where I have won before. You get a cool trophy called the Wittig Cup. I didn't want to win it again, but would have liked to help a team mate win it (Travis). Anyways, Saturday morning came I was all loaded ready to head to the races to watch Ryan P. race, but something told me to call him to make sure he went. So, I called him and he didn't go, but was going to go ride. I then tried to get a hold of Travis to see if he was going for sure. I didn't get an answer quickly so opted to not race and go ride with Ryan. Another reason I wasn't really excited about racing was that I had two days off the bike. So, my week of training didn't go as I planned. We rode close to 50 miles and then I was able to hand out with my wife and my brother and his wife.
Sunday I rode down to Extreme and then rode with them just outside of West Bend and then went home. Another 50 miles in. We rode what was the GearGrinder loop. Learning new routes is always fun.
Upcoming Monday-Mow the grass, Tues.-Hill Repeats, Wed.-OBC?, Thurs.-Group Ride, Fri. OFF, Saturday-leg opener. Sunday-Wheels on Willy Criterium. Skipping the road race this weekend and going to go to Madison ready to race.

La Crosse, R.R., T.T., Criterium

I left for La Crosse Saturday morning at 5:30am and was planning on going straight to the road race starting location which was in Minnesota just over the Wisconsin border. I was making really good time, so, I called up my team mate Travis to see if he was going out for breakfast somewhere. He was,so, I met up with his family and his cousins. After breakfast we were able to car pool together for the road race.
At the start of the race I thought it would have went a lot better than it did. Anyways this is how it went down. The race wasn't really a race except on the long steep climb. The first lap I made it up the hill decent staying on Travis's wheel. 2nd lap nothing happened again until the climb and I was towards the back of the field, this was a terrible spot to be. I wish I would have been closer to the front, this would have gave me a lot better chance stay with the group. As they pushed hard up the hill I kept going backwards and couldn't get back on. I did do another lap but decided to call it quits after that. I was suppose to race for 4 laps, oh well.
Next up on the same day was a time trial that went up a bluff for 2.4 miles. I raced within myself, and I thought I would have placed better than I did (last place). I could have maybe pushed a little bit harder but not much. It took me 10min. 30sec. to do the climb.
Finally Sunday was the criterium. The "plan" was to sit in and have Travis lead me out. The race was fast with multiple attacks until finally they let 2 sit out front letting them gain some time every now and then. I did try to do an attack early and someone did join me, but the peloton wasn't having none of it. That is when I decided to just sit in and wait and let Travis do his thing. At 5 laps to go we were still in back and then Travis went to work. He was pulling me up a little every lap. These laps clipped off really quickly and at 1 lap to go we still were a little far back. He pushed hard and was trying to take safe lines and in the last corner he wanted a different line than the one he took, but I still managed to pass a few to the finish line finishing 6th place. He did a great job and I am really excited to have a team mate willing to work for me. Not everyone has that with their team mates. I hope to help return the favor for him soon!
Next up, Monday yard work, Tuesday my criterium practice, Wednesday OBC, Thursday I have to take the day off or ride really early in the morning, Friday off, Saturday Matt Wittig Memorial Criterium. Sunday is mothers day, so I don't know if I will have time.

Re-Charged

I went to Jamaica recently for my brother's wedding. Tammy and I left April 26th and were back home May 2nd at midnight. We had a blast, no help to the weather man. I rained every day and for most part of the day. Still managed to get a little tan though. We didn't let the weather get us down and we made the best of it. It did stop for the wedding and pictures, so lucky.
Back to bike related stuff. Before we left I tried to stress my body a lot knowing I was going to get plenty of recovery. I did ok at this, but, I was hoping to get more stress before I left. Oh well, you can only do so much with the allowed time. I could have used one more hard day of training, so my timing was a little off.
I did get out on Wednesday for the OBC ride. I started from home and met up with the group at the start of their ride. We started pretty calm for the most part and then Joe Curtes wanted to go harder so he started pushing a bit harder on Cedar Creek (?) towards Hwy M. Kept pushing it down Hwy M and then for the most part the ride was ON. I was wondering how my legs were going to react after the time off. I didn't have any problems keeping up and I even tried to help when I could. About midway coming south out of Newburg before one of the sprint signs there was a crash. Well, not really a crash because no one went down. But, there was some carnage, I heard a broken rear derailleur, and some broken spokes on a wheel. Two different people, I did wait along with @ 10 others, to make sure everyone was ok. They were ok, but couldn't resume riding. Mean while most of the group went up the road.
We started working together getting a pace line going, at least the best we could with the different abilities that we had. This was going relatively smooth and we moving along well. We managed to catch the main group by Hwy 60 and Hornes Corners. This for me is great timing, I was able to sit in recover and get ready for the final sprint. I timed this perfect and Jim G. launched early and I waited for the right moment to go. I did pass Jim before the sign, so I am very pleased with my legs.
Thursday I went out too and was able to get in 20 minutes before meeting up with the West Bend group ride that starts at 6pm. It was a small group of only 3, and we had a good tempo ride. We missed Dave H. on the ride!
Anyways I am taking the day off today and have a lot of things to get done before I leave early tomorrow morning. I am headed to Minnesota to do a road race and then to LaCrosse to do a TT on Saturday. I will be doing a criterium on Sunday which is also in LaCrosse. I am plenty fresh, but my fitness is down a little, but when I compare myself to others I feel I am riding pretty strong. I am hoping by the end of the weekend my fitness will be where it was when I left, and if I am lucky maybe even gain some extra fitness.

2nd's!

Saturday I went racing and the race was held in Menomonee Park, Menomonee Falls. This is more like a circuit course than a criterium. It was a bit cool only getting up into the mid 50's and the cool wind coming out of the north. I went very early to watch some other fellow team mates race. Team Extreme had racers in Cat. 4, M4/5, M3/4, Cat. 3 that I know of. I had a lot of fun hanging around and watching everyone!
On to my race. I had some team mates that were willing to help me out (Brian,Jeff, & Travis). That being said, I was really relaxed and didn't get to excited if someone tried to go off the front. The race was relatively uneventful from my perspective at least. It had parts where it was fast, but not crazy fast that I ever felt like my heart was going to explode. Then the times that it was going slow it was really going SLOW. Travis chased down a break easily and Brian chased down 2 or 3 breaks.
At one point I was talking to Travis asking him if he wanted to do a tandem attack. He was all for it, but this didn't happen because of the make up of the rest of the race. Ok, 3 laps to go, pretty slow, 2 laps to go Brian get on the front and pulls for the entire lap, 1 lap to Jeff gets on the and pulls for 3/4 lap. Then people started going through the "S" curves with the little rollers. I went with and then on the final roller I drilled it and went into the last corner first and I know it is a long way to the finish. I kept going as hard as I could, and then past just before the line. 2nd place, I am happy very happy with that. I was marked by the guy that past me, but oh well, that is racing. Again, I would like to thank my team mates for their hard efforts in the race. It HELPS!
Sunday, Tammy and I went back to Madison for the GDVC #2 race. The weather basically the same as Saturday except for the wind. The wind was much stronger making it feel very cold if you were just sitting around. We were early and were able to catch the end of the Cat. 4 race. I met most of the Osborne family and looking foreword to seeing them more often.
I have no team mates helping today, so I know I need to be aggressive and smart. It is hard to do both along with managing your matches. This race was much harder than Saturday's race, with attacks and then more attacks. Finally a small break was out there, but it was eventually brought back. I put in plenty of hard efforts, but managed my matches well. I was on the front at 2 laps to go and knew this is not where I would like to be. I rode on the front very slow, but ready to go if someone was going to launch. It did then pick up a little, 1 lap to go, around corner 1 into the head wind, pace to really fast at all. Around corner 2 up the roller through the curve nothing to crazy so I start moving up and finding a opening. Over the crest started sprinting into the last corner way ahead of everyone. Again, a long ways to the finish. Now, what not to DO! I looked back and so I thought I had this huge gap and I started celebrating early hand off the bars and everything and then I was passed! 2nd place again, I wasn't gassed I still had more and I should have easily won the race. That is what I get for being cocky I guess. Not to mention the officials didn't like it either and they made sure to let me know. I am glad that they didn't DQ me. Time to move on!

GDVC '12 #1

Sunday morning I checked the weather wondering if the race was going to happen. The radar actually wasn't too bad and I new I would still be taking my chances. It was warm 70 degrees but very windy. My wife did join me for the race and my father-in-law and his girl friend also came out to watch.
I lined up with one other team mate (Brian P.) this was his third race. The race started normal nothing crazy, but before long the attacks were launched and didn't take long before a group of 4 was off the front and maybe a lap later 2 more jumped off the front. I was not in the right position for any of those attacks. The bigger teams were represented well and they were blocking for the breakaway. I launched my own attack 5 laps to go, but I was only able to stay away for 2 laps. I then recovered in the small peloton and waited for the sprint finish. I timed it perfect and was able to get behind someone that pulled me to the front and then some. So, I only had to pass him for the field sprint. I passed him pretty easily placing 7th on the day.
I do need to be more aggressive and get into these breaks early. I don't want to make any excuses, but I am on the older side of the bunch. These younger racers are very punchy and it doesn't seem hard all the time. With that being said I am glad I went off the front for a little bit, because it was way too easy to just ride in the peloton.
Next up Saturday Menomonee Park, Sunday GDVC #2.

1st Criterium Practice '12, OBC

This past Tuesday evening I had my first criterium practice. Considering the weather only being in the mid to upper 30's and very windy, I still had @ 11 brave souls come out and join me. Had 3 women and that is a high for me, hope they keep coming out. We were able to squeeze in 3 mini races. They were a blast and helped people to practice drafting, sprinting and break-aways. I did stay after to consume a couple of beverages and a sandwich. Thanks to those that came out. Next one will be April 24th, help spread the word.
Last night I went and did the OBC ride that left Grafton at 5:30pm. I left work a little early to make sure I was ready in time. I drove out this time, because I wanted to do the whole thing. Early on though someone flatted and 6 other and myself stopped and waited while everyone else kept going. By the time they had fixed the flat we were on our own. So, instead of doing the planned route we went and did the Waubeka route which is a little longer. We had most of the strong guys and we worked very well pace-lining almost the whole time. I do believe that this was a better workout anyways. I did manage to squeeze out enough energy to win the final sprint too. Great ride!
Tonight I plan on doing some hill repeats on Hillside off of Hwy NN going south to Sleepy Dragon. Friday will be a rest day, and Saturday will be a short leg opener, and Sunday will be GDVC #1. The first WCA race for 2012 and I am really looking foreword to it. I am going to be racing Cat. 3.

Drop the Doc

Saturday 4/7/12 I picked Ryan up and we headed to Attitude Sports in Pewaukee where we met up with Brian from the team and many others from other teams. We needed to be ready to ride at 7am. It was miserebly cold and was going to warm up a little bit very quickly. This made dress apperal a bit tough. I wanted to make sure I wore clothes that I could take off easily enough if I was getting to warm. I did really good, but was miserable for the first 20 minutes or so. My body was good, but my fingures were frozen. They did get better as soon as we started putting in a little more effort into the pedals. We had a very nice controlled pace to Bicycle Doctor.
We waited at Bicycle Doctor for about 5 minutes before everyone was ready to go. We started off pretty slow like it normally does until you go up and over a climb about 3 miles in or so. On the climb it is very crucial that you push pretty hard to stay towards the front without blowing up because the pace keeps going after the climb. This can be a bit tricky because there are lots of riders that know this and are on the front but don't have the fitness to keep up on the climb. So, you have to weave through the riders with out losing the front goup. I made the front group and before you know it I was on the front helping with the pace. I had my fair share of pulls without pushing to hard to stay within myself. I did really good staying at the front trying to get into any breaks that may happen. One break did eventually get off the front and I was not in it. They timed it perfect and I didn't have it in me to bridge/catch it by myself. They were not really getting away and then at one point they really pushed and the group I was in was not working together well. We never caught them, but there was only like 5 miles left or so when they broke off the front. KS Energy was the biggest represented team in our group and they didn't work well with each other. Towards the end Brian went to the front and started setting a tempo into the final straight. I was sitting about 10th and waited patiently hoping for someone to go and I would follow. Nobody was going so, I took the inniative and started semi sprinting knowing that I was going to be towing some people and try to have a little something for a final kick. I managed a 2nd in our chase group sprint and I was pleased with that. There was only 2 other people that could stay in tow, so I put in enough hurt at the right time to drop most of the group. The ride back was nice and Ryan pulled a good portion back to the car. 70 miles total with many good hard efforts. A good day of riding.
Sunday (Easter), I wanted to get a ride in, but was limited in time. I went out by myself and broke another spoke, but this time was the front wheel. Not a big deal, opened up my brake and rode home. This did happen close to home so the timing was about the best that could be. I rode for 17 miles and was a good hard tempo, so job done early and on with the family obligations.
Upcoming this week Monday, off day, Tuesday, my first criterium practice, Wednesday easy day, Thursday, Hillside hill repeats, Friday, off day, Saturday, short leg opener, Sunday, GDVC #1.

Burnahm Criterium/Sunday Team Ride

Saturday at 9am Ryan picked me up and we headed out, meeting up with Brian as he car pooled behind us. The race was held at Blackhawk Race track in South Beloit, Illinois. The weather was suppose to be a lot warmer than what it really was. They were off by 15 degrees. The winds were a factor a little and it was very cloudy.
Brian, Ryan and myself raced all together in the M30+ 1,2,3,4, what a wide variety of categories. Ryan is a 4 looking to upgrade to a 3 and Brian and myself are 3's. We arrived early and watched the juniors race and then we ate something and started warming up. We didn't have any team tactics planned which is ok, none of us didn't know what kind of form we have and didn't know who was showing up or what kind of pace it was going to be. This is a 45 minute race and a flat road course.
Race went sort of like this. Lined up and we were given our instructions and then we were off. I had some trouble getting my right foot clipped in but didn't matter I was able to keep pedaling and not loose any ground. I watched a couple breaks go and get caught and I forced a short break too that was caught. Eventually though there was a break that did go and it seemed like it was going to get caught but never did. I wish I would have tried to bridge up to it, but I thought for sure it was going to get caught. I believe I had the legs to get to the break. Anyways it didn't happen and then on the last lap when normally the pace gets driven to a higher speed this was not the case. It was so slow and my position was so terrible. I was blocked in the back from other racers taking up the whole course from side to side. Unbelievable I thought to myself and what the hell am I going to do. All I could do was wait and wait and finally on the final straight which is 500 meters they went. I started sprinting and was pinched off slow down and go around and in between racers. I did manage to pass a bunch of racers before the finish line, but I know I could have done so much better if I would have been to the front.
I am frustrated a bit, but I am over it. I know myself and my team mates are far from pro, but I was hoping that they would have helped me out a bit more. They didn't help me at all! Maybe they were struggling just to stay in? I managed to squeeze out a 18th place finish, Ryan 29th, and Brian 31st. I still had fun and it was great hanging out with friends.
Sunday, was Team Extreme's "No Drop" ride. The ride started at Extreme Ski & Bike in Thiensville. This by the way was a last minute decision to go. I woke up at and decided I was going at 7:15am. I was on my bike at 7:45am to meet Brian in Cedarburg at 8:30am and then to the bike shop at 9am. I rode pretty hard to Brian's house and then easy to the shop.
We started at 9:15am and I was staying in the back. I was really cold, my sweat has cooled and my body temperature has come down. After maybe 10-20 minutes in the back I went to the front. I needed to keep the pedals moving and in order for me to do that I needed to be in the front. This helped with my cold as now I was doing some more work warming up my body. I was being very nice to everyone riding in Z2 and Z3 on the climbs. I didn't want to drop anyone and make sure everyone was comfortable. This changed as we started to head back. Pace picked up a little especially on the climbs. I put in a couple hard efforts "dropping" some people. We did wait for people, so it was a good ride. This was a 35 mile route with the team, then I rode home. Brian accompanied me to the east side of West Bend and then broke off. I had 80 miles total. Another good day in the saddle.
Upcoming, Monday short easy ride, Tuesday motor pacing, Wednesday easy ride, Thursday Hillside hill repeats, Friday off, Saturday Drop the Doc, Sunday not sure what I will be able to squeeze in, I know I have family obligations since it is Easter. Next race is GDVC #1 on 4/15/12.

Ripon Spring Classic

Saturday morning cool, misty, & foggy. Brian P. (team mate) picked me up at 6:30am and then we headed to Ripon. We were doing a fundraising ride for the college bicycle team. It was a 110 mile ride that had a bunch of gravel sections and plenty of hills. It was the perfect weather for a Belgium spring classic. My bicycle was clean prior, and by the end it looked like I was mountain biking with it. Great route!
There was about 40 riders and all was good until we hit the first gravel road. You know what happen then? Flat tires, there were a lot of flat tires. There was a sag vehicle, but we were waiting for people to change the tubes. This became very annoying after wasting about 20 minutes. One of the biggest problems with group rides is the pace/power. Especially when you have a variety of talent or lack of. The up hills people seemed to power up them and then coast down hill, this is not very efficient way to ride for 110 miles. So, what ended up happening after about 40 miles is that Erik L, Kyle J, Brian P, and myself started riding by our selves. The group pulled away from us and we started pace lining and eventually caught back up to them.
We kept doing our pace line and for a little while nobody disrupted what we were doing, but that didn't take long and then some riders rotated in and didn't know what they were doing screwing things up. They stopped at a bar and we waited for a bit and then decided to keep going, but added 2 more IS Corp riders. I am sure the group wasn't far behind. We took a wrong turn, but we were back on track in no time. We then saw the group coming up from behind us and we just kept going with our pace. We were coming to a climb and they were getting really close and Kyle said, on this climb we will drill it a little and drop as many people as possible. It was a pretty long steep climb and we did just that, there were only like four people that stayed with us from that group. Some of these new riders were powering up the hills too, but after I said something they stopped and were riding smooth. At miles 72 was the lunch stop, where some of us filled up with fluids, and some stayed to eat. At this point it was down to 5 of us to finish the ride.
As we got closer to the end I was getting extremely tired and every hill was a struggle. I was not the only one hurting and I was glad I had the fitness to finish the ride. I am was happy when it was done and all I wanted to do was EAT! Brian and I then stopped for food and then he dropped me off.
This was a long day and I am very thankful for having an understanding wife and puts up with my bicycling hobby. I was gone all day, not getting home till 6:30pm, and by the time I was unpacked and hanging out with her it was 7pm.
Sunday, I washed my bicycle and then went for a quick 30 minute easy ride. I had to be ready to leave the house at 9:30am to go to the home show in Milwaukee. As for the week of training; Monday, not sure yet, may go for a ride, but I might have to mow my grass again, that will be the third time this year. If I go for a ride it will only be for an hour and will be easy. Still need a little more time to recover. Tuesday, will depend on rain or not, if it is not raining I am going to motor pace. Wednesday, depends on my TSS, I might meet up with OBC or just do my own thing. Thursday, I will probably only ride of an hour to hour and half. Friday, will probably be a rest day, but might go for a little leg opener. Saturday, if the weather is ok I will race in Illinois. Sunday, hoping for a 3 hour endurance ride.

Motor Pacing #2

Motor pacing last night went fairly well. I had Jake from work drive the car while Ryan and I motor paced behind. Jake not being a bicycle rider was a bit heavy on the gas pedal at times. We had one person that almost pulled out in front of us. I saw this coming so I managed not to panic and had a exit strategy. While Jake just kept follow the road and Ryan panicked and grabbed a hand full of brakes, but managed to stay up-right. This was just south of Fond Du Lac.
The route was great and went like this. We started just north of Kewaskum on Hwy 45 to Hwy K north a little more to Hwy T east to Hwy G south. We rode for 45 miles with an average speed of 27+ mph. The only way to reach speeds like these is either motor pacing or racing. I am looking forward to the next time and I am thinking of doing the same exact route, just improving the speed.
Tonight I am going to meet up with some OBC riders and tomorrow looks like some rain/T-storms moving so I will probably take the day off. Friday will also be a rest day and Saturday 110 miles for Ripon College. I do have some plans on Sunday, so I will be just winging that day.

Jim Giese's Training Ride

This past Saturday Jim hosted a group training ride. Let me say that he did a phenominal job. Nice job Jim. He had sprint spots and a 6 mile mini circuit race, for a total a 4 harder efforts. There must have been @ 40 riders, which was awesome. Good to see the familier faces and seen a bunch of new ones too.
First sprint was by the intersection of Pleasant Valley & Hwy M. I timed this one right and won it for 5 points and for a pound of coffee. Second sprint was by the intersection of Decorah & Hwy M placing 2nd for 3 points, and I let my team mate Grant who won it. Third one was the 6 mile circuit race where I placed 2nd for another 3 points, I timed this one badly but managed a good position behind Jeff Melcher. Fourth one was by intersection Hwy 60 & Division, this again I was 2nd for 3 more points and behind Jeff Melcher. I really had fun doing this ride and it was a great way to judge my fitness against others without having to sign up for a race. I also won the GC for the total ride, so my winnings on the day was 1 pound bag Fiddleheads Coffee, a water bottle, a T-shirt, and a bag of protein things that tasted good. I rode to the ride w/Jim S. thanks for the company. And seen that Jeff also rode out, but when it was time to come back I was by myself. Brian P. rode with me back to West Bend thanks for the company. Had a total of 72 miles.
Sunday I went out with my wife, first time outside for her this year. We rode two hours really easy for a total of 30 miles. I then mowed the grass and believe it or not in some spots it really needed it. I weed eated, not sure if that is gramically correct? And then I edged my sidewalk which was a lot more work than I anticipated even with the edger. I got a lot of sun this weekend and possibly a bit to much.
This weeks training is hopefully going to look like this....Monday, off (funteral), Tuesday, motor pace, Wednesday, meet up with OBC, Thursday,recover ride, Friday, off, Saturday, Ripon 110 mile road ride, Sunday, recovery ride. Should be another good week of training. Oh and by the way I had a record amount of saddle time this past week with almost a total of 14 hours.

Is it May?

WOW, what beautiful weather we are having in the middle of March.It is going to be a good week for riding outside. I rode outside on Saturday with a small group of around eight. We left Wheel & Sprocket North shore at 9:30am and head out to Holly Hill. It was quit cool yet and very windy, but the ride back was really nice. I had some good tempo efforts and had a lot of fun! We had some mechanical too of course, a broken chain, flat tire, seat post bolt break, but no crashes, just good fun in the sun. I had about 70 miles total.

Sunday I went out again, but this time by myself. I had some time constraints, so I was not able to ride from Wheel & Sprocket again. I rode towards Holly Hill again, but didn't go to the church. I rode 45 miles and again put in some good tempo efforts. I had to leave a bit early, so again my ride back in was nicer than going out. Oh well, need to balance cycling, life and of course the wife.

Monday, I went out for an easy 30 miles. Ryan P. joined me and we just talked a spun. It was nice just spinning around. The roads were wet in some spots, but for the most part fairly dry. Temps where in the mid to upper 50's and winds a little lighter. This ride was kept very easy, you need these days too in training.

Today I am going to ride again after work and will be putting some good temp/threshold efforts. I should be able to get in two hours before the sun goes down. Tomorrow (Wednesday) my brother in going to be the motor pace driver while Ryan and I follow. Thursday will be another easy day and Friday will be an off day. Saturday I am keeping my options open for now, and will see what my schedule allows me to do. Same goes for Sunday! This is going to be a good week of training.

Practice for Training

Last night I did a little motor pacing practice. I call it practice because it was only for only thirty minutes. I wanted my team mate to get some time in too, he was able to get in 20 minutes. We started from my work and headed towards Extreme Ski & Bike. We jig jagged over to Hwy Y and then headed south. I went to Hwy Y & Hwy 60 and then we switched. He went from Hwy Y to the shop. This was very short for both of us and would have been nice to get in more time, but we only had so much daylight to work with. I need to get a designated driver so that the both of us could be riding at the same time.

The roller works really good, keeping us from taking the paint off of his bumper. We picked up some of our new kits, not everything was in, but I was able to get two bibs and one jersey. I ordered a white jersey too, I really like the way the new kits look. Anyways, back to motor pacing, I am looking foreword to more training and it is suppose to help increase my speed. I did do some of it last year at the end of the season, so I never really got a chance to see if it helped my racing. Starting motor pacing early this year should help, but time will tell.

I commuted to work yesterday and wanted to today too, but it is suppose to rain. I will probably train in my basement tonight for two reasons, 1) daylight, not enough of it right now and I need to get in 90 minutes. 2) rain, I don't feel like riding in the rain yet. Weather looks promising all weekend so I am looking foreword to getting outside both days. Next week I weather permitting I should be riding outside after work since daylight saving is this weekend. YEAH!

Motivation

I am getting pretty bored with riding my rollers in the basement. Winter decided to show up again on Friday 3/2/12 and cold temperatures all weekend keeping me in the basement. Daylight is getting longer and the extended forecast is looking promising. Can't wait to get outside. Saturday 3/3/12 I switched up my training a bit and did something that I haven't done in two years. I trained to a training video. It was a Coach Troy video and I did the Mount Lemon climb. He does the climb with a video camera and talks during it telling you what gear to be in and what kind of intensity you should be doing. The climb is located in Tuscon, Arizona, which my Mom lives out their and someday I will do it for real. Anyways it was something different and I enjoyed it very much, even though it hurt a bit. Total workout was one hour thirty minutes.

Sunday, I rode with my wife in the basement. She rode while watching the Biggest Loser. I listened to music with my head phones. She rode for one hour thirty minutes and I rode for two hours. For my training on Sunday I knew I wanted to ride for two hours. I did a mix bag of almost everything, zones wise. I feel I am the strongest I have ever been, so training is going well.

The weather looks to be very promising the next two weeks and I will be commuting to work on my bicycle and getting some riding outside after work. Daylight saving is this weekend and that will help my after work riding out a lot. Looking forward to two plus hours of riding after work OUTSIDE! Looking to work on my steady state efforts quit a bit in March. I will be starting a little bit of hills training and hoping to get in a bunch of motor pacing. Biggest thing that I am looking for in March is to get OUTSIDE!

Another Postive Gain

I just came off of a Rest/Test week. What does that mean? It means I give my body and mind some rest which entails a little extra time off of the bike. The "test" part is my 20 minute power test. Monday (2-20) I weight lifted due to the fact that I had a good weekend of riding. So, I needed the extra day off the bike. Tuesday I rode, Wednesday I rode, and Thursday was my test day. I gave it a shot, but I still wasn't recovered enough to have a good test. How did I know? Well, during my warm up I could tell my legs were not liking what I was doing. I pushed on anyways, then while doing my test my heart rate was climbing rapidly with the pace I was doing for reaching the goal that I wanted. At 10 minutes in of my 20 minute test I called it quits. Friday took the day off, Saturday did a 1 hour leg opener for Sunday's test again. So, with the day off and a short ride on Saturday allowed my body to recover some more. Sunday's test went great! I met my goal and I am at a new all time high for my 20 minute power. Now I have adjusted my power zones accordingly and looking forward to training with my new zones. It is amazing how with just a little more rest how much more torture your body can handle.

Upcoming: March I have some outdoor group rides planned and looking to get in a bunch of motor pacing. I will keep an eye on my WKO program making sure I don't dig myself into a hole.

Double Header

I was able to get outside this past weekend, both days! In February this is phenomenal! These mild temperatures with the lack of snow has kept the roads relatively safe.

Saturday I went out for 2 hours and headed north. I am really fortunate to be so close the the northern kettles. The scenery is beautiful and the roads are awesome and the traffic is very light. I didn't feel particularly strong, but managed to still muscle out a decent ride. I didn't want to ride to much on Saturday, because I was planning for a longer ride on Sunday. Saturday's ride was great, got the job done in the morning and then I was able to proceed on with my days' duties.

Sunday, what a day! Ryan met me at my house at 9am and we proceeded to ride towards Atwater School to meet up with others. They were leaving at 10:30, so, we had to hustle. I didn't know the route that they were going to take, so I wanted to try to meet them at there starting location. Ryan and I took turns taking 10 minute pulls, this was working perfect. He is getting much stronger and I hope he can stick with it. As we were getting closer and the clock ticking away, I knew that we were not going to make. So, I called my contact and left message. He did call me back a bit later and then text me the new meeting location. Ryan and I had to turn around and head back north. We were still able to make it to the meeting location before they arrived. We met them at Wheel & Sprocket on Lake Dr. & Green Tree. We rode with them (@10 people, and mostly IS Corp juniors) up to Cedarburg and then Ryan and I proceeded home. Our harder effort heading down sure taxed my body and I was pretty toast. I had 4 hours in the saddle, so 6 hours for the weekend and over 10 hours for the week. Now I need a little break 1 or 2 days off and then I have a FTP test on Thursday. Not expecting a whole lot out of this next test, and I will be very happy with any positive gain.

I had a great weekend riding my bicycle!

Rollin' on Rollers

This past weekend I had two hour training rides, one on Saturday and one on Sunday. These are longest indoor rides of the year so far. Saturday I did my ride at the West Bend Mutual Mall in which Washington County Bike Club had put on the event. This was neat, Mountain Outfitters and Expedition Supply were there with product for sale. It was something different and I really enjoyed it.

Sunday's ride I did at my home at my leisure. The two hours on Sunday was a lower intensity than Saturday's ride. I felt pretty good and now I am looking for a recovery day, which is today.

My fitness is gradually improving so with that being said, I guess I am doing well with my training. After today's recovery day I will be ready for some more.

February Group Ride

Wow, what a beautiful weekend weather wise here in Wisconsin. I had a team mate set up a group ride for Saturday. He was starting in Cedarburg and brought the route up to West Bend where 4 of us met up with 3 others. The sun was plentiful and the winds were light. I believe the temperatures in the lower 40's, nice thing about the sun, is that it makes it feel a little warmer than what it really is.

I had a lot of fun taking my pulls and enjoyed seeing my friends. I did have a little bad luck though. My rear Easton wheel broke a spoke. I think this is due to last years crash at Downer. My wheel was out of true and I had it fixed, but I think that spoke was bent a bit and was weakened. Shouldn't be a big deal to have it fixed. I am glad that it did happen now instead of in a race.

I rode 70 miles and I was pretty trashed by the end of the ride. Sunday, I rode in the basement next to my wife. I did an easy short ride just to spin out the legs a little. I need to make sure that I am not hurting my legs to much to soon.

Monday, I will do some weight training and then by Tuesday I will be good to go again.

January Test

I DID IT! I was doing my warm up for my 20 minute power test and felt ok. I decided that I would go for it and see what happens. I am very pleased with my numbers so far and if I wasn't sick I am sure it could have been just a little bit better. I had a goal that I wanted for this test and I met it. I feel that I am on track with my training and looking forward to the 2012 race season.

Now, I just need to get over this cold.

Under the Weather

Oh it has been a little while since my last blog. Currently I have picked up a head cold. Started feeling it on Tuesday afternoon and it still here. I am feeling better now, but still have nasal congestion and I also feel a bit lazy. I haven't been sleeping very good at night either, the cold is keeping from getting a good nights rest. Now, I have a 20 minute test for myself for today and I feel somewhat up to it. My thought is to see how the warm up goes, if I feel good warming up I am going to give it a go. If I am not feeling it, well then, I will just tempo ride for a little while.

I have been training very consistently and I feel that I am getting stronger. That being said I was looking forward to the test. I know there is a lot of sickness crap floating around. I was actually hoping that I wasn't going to get sick, but it was just a matter of time. I just hope that I am able to get over it relatively quickly.

I am hoping for a nice weekend day one of these days, I need to get outside! February is right around the corner and I am looking for another solid month of training. Intensity picking up a little along with a little more saddle time. My next blog should be on how my 20 minute test went. So look for that soon. For those that do read this thingy.

Crazy MoFos'

Riding outside on December 31st, 2011. I had set up a ride because we were going to have mild temperatures. But, needless to say, not the greatest of road conditions. I was getting people cancelling out on my ride, so I was going to post pone or cancel the ride. I did make another phone call to Jim G (team mate) who was joining me, and he told me he was going and was meeting other people in a meeting spot in Cedarburg. So, no plan changes and I left my house at 10am with slightly snow covered roads. Meet up with Jim and his group of 8 total. I was really surprised how many people he had with him. The roads were very sketchy, and half of the group split a little while later. Half the group headed back to Cedarburg, and the rest of us headed towards Sussex.

I rode mostly tempo and had no problem being on the front pulling. Mike H. was on a bit of a time constraint, so I was glad to stay on the front keeping a good pace, without dropping anyone. Tailwind was nice and we made up some time really quick, but I don't think he made it back when he was suppose to. I tried to help.

I spent the morning getting my Giant ready. I changed the fit to be more like my Trek and also put my Quarq crank on so I could watch my power zones. I also have on a set of clamp on aero bars and used these quite a bit. Overall the bike fit felt good, only bad part is my saddle sucks. You really need to have a nice saddle if you plan on riding for 4 hours. Not sure if I really want to invest any money into my winter bike. I don't ride it that often, so, I think I will just deal with it.

New Years Eve night was a lot of fun! We stayed home, but had my brother and his fiance over. They spent the night so we were able to let loose.

I was suppose to ride on Sunday, but wasn't feeling well in the morning. We had plans in the afternoon that consumed the rest of the day, so I didn't get to ride. I rode on Monday instead, and didn't do my weight training because my brother wasn't up to it and I didn't' feel driving any where. I will get some weight training next week.

Now it is time to get completely on track now, all the distractions are out of the way.